Antonio Conte aims jibe at Tottenham just a day after Thomas Frank appointed new manager | OneFootball

The Italian was unable to end Spurs’ long silverware drought

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Conte, who managed Spurs from November 2021 to March 2023, won 41 of his 76 games in charge in north London.

The Italian helped the club qualify for the Champions League for the first time since 2020, finishing fourth in the 2021-22 season.

Thomas Frank is the latest man to take over at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with the former Brentford boss aiming to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor Ange Postecoglou and make winning trophies a habit.

Now, Conte, the Napoli manager, has aimed another dig at his former employers, emphasising his disbelief when he saw his squad celebrating their qualification for Europe’s elite competition.

“That was certainly a difficult year,” Conte told Sky Italia of the start of his Tottenham tenure.

“I arrived at Tottenham in November with the team ninth in the table, in the first year we beat Arsenal to the Champions League spot. For Tottenham, you must understand, qualifying for the Champions League is practically the same as winning the Premier League title.

“I remember at the end of the game with Norwich, there were celebrations in the dressing room. I called my staff over and told them, we’d better not get used to this sort of celebration, meaning we shouldn’t be celebrating Champions League qualification as if it was the Premier League title.

“We were accustomed to celebrating for very different things.”

Conte’s appointment was similar to that of Jose Mourinho’s - a serial winner employed to end Spurs’ long-running trophy drought - but neither the Portuguese nor the Italian could win any silverware.

Since his departure from Spurs, Conte has moved back to his native Italy, taking charge of Napoli.

He led the club to their fourth Scudetto last season, and his fifth Serie A title, becoming the first manager to win Italy’s top flight with three different clubs.